H&M Foundation - Global Change Award

ALT TEX is a biotechnology company that produces carbon-neutral fabric derived from post-industrial waste. It converts landfill-destined food waste into biodegradable bioplastic fibers, offering an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic fabrics for the fashion industry.

Founded in 2018, KBCols Sciences is a Pune-based company that specializes in extracting natural colors from agro-industrial waste. It produces a range of colors including blue, violet, pink, red, orange, yellow, and white, serving applications in cosmetics, textiles, paints, food, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.

DyeRecycle, established in 2020 and based in London, specializes in sustainable textile dyeing. It has developed a pioneering technology that extracts and recycles dye from discarded fabric, transferring the color onto new materials. This process reduces the textile industry's reliance on virgin materials and promotes a greener, more circular economy.

Tereform is a company engaged in chemical engineering, manufacturing, and recycling, with a primary mission of facilitating textile-to-textile recycling to combat textile waste. The company employs a range of innovative technologies and processes to promote circularity within the fashion and textile industries, aiming to lessen their environmental impact. Tereform also focuses on developing deconstruction processes that transform waste materials into chemical building blocks. Utilizing earth-abundant metal catalysts and atmospheric oxygen, Tereform's core technology enables the chemical manufacturing sector to minimize its dependence on petroleum-based materials and adopt more sustainable practices.

We are a team of stubborn optimists, researchers, scientists, and social entrepreneurs dedicated to building a just, inclusive planet-positive future for the materials industry. We work at the intersection of a sustainable materials future and regenerative agriculture. We do this by transforming agricultural waste, from smallholder farming communities across Africa, into sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based synthetics. Our mission is to empower smallholder farming communities, promote environmental sustainability, and enhance livelihoods by upcycling agricultural waste into valuable products. We are committed to fostering innovation, environmental responsibility, and social impact.

Algreen is a developer of biobased polyurethanes aimed at tackling global pollution issues while promoting sustainable fashion. The company specializes in eco-friendly polyurethane solutions that are fossil fuel-free and derived from agricultural waste, ensuring that essential food crops are not negatively impacted. Algreen's product offerings cater to various industries, including automotive, aeronautical, cosmetics, and sustainable packaging. Their innovations include fabric glue, apparel coatings, shoe foam, vegan leather coatings, adhesives, film formers, chipboard products, and both primary and secondary packaging solutions. By focusing on environmentally friendly materials, Algreen contributes to a more sustainable future across multiple sectors.

Refiberd employs AI and hyperspectral imaging systems to enhance textile-to-textile recycling. Its technology accurately identifies fiber types and contaminants in textile waste, aiming to divert up to 70% of such waste to high-value recyclers. This empowers the fashion industry by improving the recycling process and transforming discarded textiles into new materials.

PhycoLabs is a biotech startup that focuses on developing and licensing algae-based technologies, in a business model.

Nanoloom develops sustainable fabrics using graphene-based technology. It produces BioHastalexTM, a biodegradable nanocomposite copolymer derived from functionalized graphene oxide, offering waterproofing capabilities and serving as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional textiles.

SXD is a sustainable fashion company focused on transforming leftover and wasted textiles into aesthetically pleasing and functional zero-waste clothing. By leveraging innovative design technology, SXD maximizes the use of minimal resources to create versatile pieces that contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry. The company's approach not only prioritizes beauty and comfort but also ensures affordability, offering customers high-quality designs at significantly lower costs. Through its commitment to sustainability, SXD aims to redefine fashion consumption by providing stylish solutions that generate no fabric waste.

Loopworm is a biosciences and biomanufacturing company that converts edible insects into sustainable protein and fat ingredients for animal and pet nutrition, with an initial focus on animal and pet nutrition and plans to expand into amino acids, chitin-derived plant biostimulants, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, oleochemicals, and recombinant proteins. It uses silkworms and black soldier fly larvae, and operates a decentralised, capital-expenditure-light production model by partnering with contract insect cultivators. In 2024 it commissioned a 6000 tonnes per annum insect processing facility to produce LoopMeal and LoopOil for animal feed and pet food. The company also exploits waste streams to extract nutrition and produces larval waste as natural fertilizer, contributing to soil health and supporting aquaculture, poultry, and farming. Loopworm was founded in 2019 in Bangalore, India by Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, with a mission to scale insect-based production and expand the insect economy.

MuddleArt is a textile waste management company focused on providing ethical and transparent solutions to address the challenges of textile waste. The company operates a platform that connects various stakeholders within the textile industry, including consumers, producers, recyclers, and manufacturers. By facilitating recycling and upcycling of waste materials generated during manufacturing processes, MuddleArt aims to reduce landfill waste while promoting sustainable practices. The company’s network of partnerships not only benefits the environment but also contributes to job creation within the industry.

Resortecs is a pioneering company in the fashion industry focused on promoting circularity through its innovative Design for Disassembly approach. The company develops heat-dissolvable stitching threads and thermal disassembly systems that simplify the recycling process for brands, sorters, and recyclers. Its flagship product, Smart Stitch™, features stitching threads with varying melting points that allow for the transformation of garments into recyclable pieces right from the manufacturing stage. Complementing this is Smart Disassembly™, a thermal disassembly system capable of processing up to 4 million garments annually, while maintaining low emissions and preserving material quality. This approach enables the recycling of up to 90% of original fabric material, addressing environmental challenges without compromising the creativity and quality of fashion products. Resortecs aims to facilitate a sustainable future for the textile industry by making garment recycling efficient and accessible.

GALY is a United States–based biomaterials company that grows cotton from cells in a laboratory rather than from field crops. Using a proprietary method, it produces cellular cotton to supply textile materials, including yarns, for clothing brands and textile manufacturers. The process eliminates farmland requirements, minimizes water use, and avoids pesticides and insecticides, offering a sustainable, traceable, and ethical raw material with a lower environmental impact.

Reverse Resources operates an online tracking and trading platform for textile waste. It connects garment factories, cloth mills, retailers, and recycling firms to facilitate transparent waste management and reduce sourcing costs.